After finishing Yojimbo for the third time I wondered to myself what is the addictive nature of this movie. I found myself not solely thinking of Yojimbo but wondering about other movies that have recently had a similar almost “obsessive” effect. There are some films that truly do revolutionize movies. Be it through innovative techniques, or the artful use of existing ones, some movies are constructed in such a way that makes them timeless. Recently I have been drawn to foreign cinema, first as a way to improve my Spanish and as I later as a source of great interest. After watching Yojimbo and continuing to watch more foreign films I have decided that the single most driving force in the cinematic world today is the cultural exchange between film-making countries. Often we describe globalization in a purely economical sense, or as a culturally domineering sense, but recently I have seen a different trend. Many more foreign films are available today than were in my childhood.
And why is this important? I can equate foreign films to speaking in another language. We have often described how interesting it is that humans are able to recognize words and equate them to ideas, but even more interestingly are the subtle differences in different languages. The fact is that some languages, like different foreign cultures lend themselves to discuss different subject matter, or to shed new light on similar subject matter. It is fun to see Hollywood recognizing the talent of foreign directors and bringing their talents/style into American Cinema. The best example of cross-cultural exchange that we have seen in our class was the Glass Key – Yojimbo – Fistful of Dollars relationship. Kurosawa’s treatment of Hard-boiled material resulted in an Italian’s (Sergio Leone) Western, and this western in turn revolutionized the American Western. It is usual not until we have seen what our (American) cinema isn’t, that we can truly identify it for what it is.